Even with the occasional blemishes, the Baldwinsville girls volleyball team still is the favorite in Section III Class AA play because its quality of play rarely wavers, regardless of an opponents’ caliber.

Back on Oct. 3, the Bees lost a set to Liverpool, the first time in years any CNY Counties League opponent had managed to earn a set, even though B’ville ended up winning in four.

Perhaps remembering what happened there, the Bees left nothing to chance in last Tuesday’s match against Fayetteville-Manlius, playing with steady confidence in all phases of the game to sweep the Hornets 25-17, 25-11, 25-18.

On a deep, balanced front line, Abby May led the way with 11 kills. Shayna Webber, with nine kills, was close behind, while Rachel Aiello picked up seven kills, adding four digs, and Maddy Price contributed four kills.

Meghann Smith continued to anchor the back line, managing 25 assists, but got ample support from Hannah Klaben, who earned eight assists. Rebecca Lawrence had three blocks and Emily Pascale had a team-best five digs.

B’ville, on its way to a weekend tournament at John Glenn High School on Long Island (along with some sightseeing in New York City), then routed Henninger 25-8, 25-13, 25-4 on Thursday night, picking up 22 aces, six of them from May, who also had eight kills.

Klaben, who earned 22 assists, and Jessica Sprague each got four aces as Michelle Voyer earned seven kills and Katie Wicks had five kills. Morgan Shibel had three kills and three aces.

Baldwinsville’s boys volleyball team, unbeaten against CNY Counties League foes, stayed that way, starting with last Monday’s steady effort that led to a 25-18, 25-20, 25-15 victory over F-M.

Except for the second set, there was little for the Bees to stress about. Pat Dubiel earned 22 assists, adding three aces and two kills, his passes often going to Corey Toscano, who had a team-best 12 kills, and Ryan Gell, who had six kills. Liam Wicks and Charles McAllister had three kills apiece and David Cerqua contributed six digs.

During Thursday night’s 25-7, 25-20, 25-16 sweep over the combined Syracuse city squad at Fowler High School, Wicks led the front line with seven kills. Gell got four kills, with Jonathan Dunn contributing four aces. Dan Shorney worked on the back line, earning 11 assists to give Dubiel (eight assists) some rest, while Nick Walker picked up six assists.

Only when it ventured outside of CNYCL competition did the Bees trip up, as it did on Friday night when it ran into Rochester McQuaid (Section V) and lost to the Knights 25-19, 25-17, 25-21.

Still, B’ville was competitive throughout the evening, helped by Cerqua’s defense that produced eight digs and Dubiel’s total of 17 assists. Up front, Toscano managed a team-best six kills, while Gell and Dunn had five kills apiece. Wicks added three kills.